PANews reported on March 28 that according to Business Insider, OpenAI's newly launched image generation tool GPT-4o can generate "Ghibli-style" images, while the free version of ChatGPT (equipped with DALL-E 3) rejected similar requests due to copyright policy. When the reporter tried to request the generation of Studio Ghibli-style images in the free version of ChatGPT, the response he received was: "Studio Ghibli-style images cannot be generated because the animation studio is protected by copyright." However, when using the paid version of ChatGPT, the newly launched GPT-4o tool can successfully generate similar images.
An OpenAI spokesperson explained that the new system has restrictions on the generation of images in the "style of living artists", but allows the generation of "broader studio-style" images. Although Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki is still alive, this situation seems to fall into the category of "studio style", so GPT-4o is not restricted from generating Ghibli-style images. It is not clear whether OpenAI has adjusted its copyright policy or reached a content agreement with Studio Ghibli. Neither OpenAI nor Studio Ghibli commented on this. This incident has raised questions about the double standards of OpenAI's copyright policy, and it is also believed that it may drive more users to upgrade to the paid version of ChatGPT.
